Personality Traits May Predict Number of Offspring (STUDY)

A new study from Norway looked at the relationship between character traits and fertility and found that the traits relate differently to the likelihood of whether men and women have children.

When sizing up the potency of potential mates, consider your partner's personality. That's what a new study published in the European Journal of Personality proposes. According to the authors, the more extroverted the males or females, the more likely they are to have multiple kids. Women who rank high on the conscientious scale are likely to have fewer children. Similarly, men who are considered most "open" or "neurotic" (moody and emotional) were found to be less prodigious.

The study was conducted by population researchers from theInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), using extensive survey and birth registry data of 7,017 Norwegian men and women born from 1927 to 1968. Vegard Skirbekk, who led the study, said he was particularly interested in fertility as it relates to the population decline across developed countries, which in some countries has fallen to below replacement rates. Personality effects on population changes had not been studied before and may be a factor contributing to the decline.

In particular, Skirbekk noted the decline in childbearing among neurotic men — men who are moody and emotional. This effect only applies to men born after 1957. Skirbekk says that the change in these men's fertility could be explained by the fact that many couples wait longer to have children and that they tend to test each other out more before committing to raising children together.

For those who would like to do some testing themselves and explore their own personality types as well as that of their mates, personality tests abound on the Web. The popular and time-tested Briggs Myers's assessment analysis is a good place to start.

B.C. (before children), Carolyn was trained as a journalist — a generalist journalist. Now as a parent, she experiences news differently. What was once an item of passing interest, i.e. "Toy Train Runs on Lead Paint" or "Midnight Release Planned for Latest Power Rangers Movie" now consumes her life. Still she trains her eye to find the family relevance in everything new, and that's what she endeavors to share with you here. As a parent, and a writer for What to Expect, she will be your family-news filter (with a personal twist).